The Sit Down with Stella Lefty
Given the fact that her latest EP houses a number of tracks that have become viral sensations including “Boston” which has hit the UK mainstream top twenty and collectively has nearly four hundred million career streams, it is no surprise that STELLA LEFTY is one of the most talked about and exciting artists to emerge in recent years.
Having attracted one of the biggest crowds ever seen on Broadway during last months CMA Fest in Nashville, she has just closed out her “Is This Heaven” era with the release of “Good At Leaving” as part of the extended version of the EP and last weekend made her debut in London where she performed on the bill with Mumford & Sons at American Express presents BST Hyde Park where we were able to hang out with her before her set.
Having attracted one of the biggest crowds ever seen on Broadway during last months CMA Fest in Nashville, she has just closed out her “Is This Heaven” era with the release of “Good At Leaving” as part of the extended version of the EP and last weekend made her debut in London where she performed on the bill with Mumford & Sons at American Express presents BST Hyde Park where we were able to hang out with her before her set.
It's great to have you here in Hyde Park.
“It’s so fun.”
Yeah, a tiny little gig for one of your first shows here in London.
“Ha-ha so tiny, I'm nervous about it, honestly. I've never been to a show even in London. This is, like, my first show here.”
Is this genuinely your first time here?
“I've been here once before for, like, a day because I studied abroad when I was in college. I wasn't in London but I remember I came to London and It was right around when the Queen died so like four years ago. I was only here like for a quick moment, so I didn't get to see it in its glory but now I get to see it all.”
It's nice because most people only see it when it rains or when it's cold but you’re here when it’s nice for a change. CMA Fest was hot as well and I heard you basically shut down Broadway when you played.
“Yes, it was crazy. I was like, what is happening? There were so many people there.”
Yeah and it's probably going to be even more people today.
“Do they all show up?”
Oh, yeah. We were here last weekend and the stage that you're playing on, Mae Estes played up there and for Jackson Dean especially, it was packed! The sets are during the changeover on the main stages so people go and check stuff out and if they like the sound of someone they’ll stick around. Then for you, you've got a couple of songs that people have heard, which will help even more. How crazy is it to think that when you wrote “I Know I Know” or “Boston” they would go on to reach so far and take you so far, like you’re not just coming here but you go to Australia in a couple of months too.
“It’s so fun.”
Yeah, a tiny little gig for one of your first shows here in London.
“Ha-ha so tiny, I'm nervous about it, honestly. I've never been to a show even in London. This is, like, my first show here.”
Is this genuinely your first time here?
“I've been here once before for, like, a day because I studied abroad when I was in college. I wasn't in London but I remember I came to London and It was right around when the Queen died so like four years ago. I was only here like for a quick moment, so I didn't get to see it in its glory but now I get to see it all.”
It's nice because most people only see it when it rains or when it's cold but you’re here when it’s nice for a change. CMA Fest was hot as well and I heard you basically shut down Broadway when you played.
“Yes, it was crazy. I was like, what is happening? There were so many people there.”
Yeah and it's probably going to be even more people today.
“Do they all show up?”
Oh, yeah. We were here last weekend and the stage that you're playing on, Mae Estes played up there and for Jackson Dean especially, it was packed! The sets are during the changeover on the main stages so people go and check stuff out and if they like the sound of someone they’ll stick around. Then for you, you've got a couple of songs that people have heard, which will help even more. How crazy is it to think that when you wrote “I Know I Know” or “Boston” they would go on to reach so far and take you so far, like you’re not just coming here but you go to Australia in a couple of months too.
“I feel like it's so hard to conceptualise when you're writing something, it's hard to think about that, especially because I never write from the perspective of, like, obviously, you want so many people to resonate, but you can't write from the perspective of thinking that people will, because then it will mess up the whole creative process. But no, I never thought that anyone would listen to it, so I was like, what's happening?”
Are you prepared for that trip when you go down under later in the year? Have you been warned about shoey's?
“Yes, I've been warned and I'm not gonna do one because I've heard that it can really mess your vocal cords up.”
It is kind of a when in Rome type thing and there’s sort of two schools of thought with it. Some people get brand new cowboy boots that have never been worn at the side of the stage, which are very clean but some people are like, yeah, screw it. I'm going to do this and we'll drink out someone in the crowds sweaty boot.
“I know and part of me is like for the culture and for the vibe I want to do it, but I'm like, what if I die?”
What would be your tipple, to give you a very good British word. Like, if you were gonna do out of it, though, what would be your drink of choice? What's the vibe for Stella Lefty in a bar?
“I really will drink pretty much anything. Like I'm down, but if I had to really choose, I would probably do maybe a White Claw, the dark cherry one, do you know the one I’m talking about?”
Oh yeah, I love a White Claw and I’ll probably have plenty of them today but the lime is my go-to flavour although I’m good with any apart from the mango one.
“I don’t think I’ve had a mango one yet.”
I don’t think you’re missing out and I wouldn’t recommend it.
“Okay, well, I won't do it but have you had the cherry one? It’s fire!”
Oh yeah but I like the mango though so I probably can’t be trusted. (Becky)
When you get the multipack here, you get lime, mango, black cherry and raspberry in it, then now they're doing like a spicy apple one too which is quite nice.
“Ooh, I’ve gotta tap in, an apple one sounds fire.”
I like it but from my perspective apart from avoiding mango, they’re all good!
“I'll avoid that one then, I mean, maybe I'll try it though.”
Yeah, you might like it too and not make me feel weird ha-ha. (Becky)
Anyway, today, you’ve got a new one to play for the first time since you put it out yesterday. Tell us about “Good At Leaving” and where that one came from.
Are you prepared for that trip when you go down under later in the year? Have you been warned about shoey's?
“Yes, I've been warned and I'm not gonna do one because I've heard that it can really mess your vocal cords up.”
It is kind of a when in Rome type thing and there’s sort of two schools of thought with it. Some people get brand new cowboy boots that have never been worn at the side of the stage, which are very clean but some people are like, yeah, screw it. I'm going to do this and we'll drink out someone in the crowds sweaty boot.
“I know and part of me is like for the culture and for the vibe I want to do it, but I'm like, what if I die?”
What would be your tipple, to give you a very good British word. Like, if you were gonna do out of it, though, what would be your drink of choice? What's the vibe for Stella Lefty in a bar?
“I really will drink pretty much anything. Like I'm down, but if I had to really choose, I would probably do maybe a White Claw, the dark cherry one, do you know the one I’m talking about?”
Oh yeah, I love a White Claw and I’ll probably have plenty of them today but the lime is my go-to flavour although I’m good with any apart from the mango one.
“I don’t think I’ve had a mango one yet.”
I don’t think you’re missing out and I wouldn’t recommend it.
“Okay, well, I won't do it but have you had the cherry one? It’s fire!”
Oh yeah but I like the mango though so I probably can’t be trusted. (Becky)
When you get the multipack here, you get lime, mango, black cherry and raspberry in it, then now they're doing like a spicy apple one too which is quite nice.
“Ooh, I’ve gotta tap in, an apple one sounds fire.”
I like it but from my perspective apart from avoiding mango, they’re all good!
“I'll avoid that one then, I mean, maybe I'll try it though.”
Yeah, you might like it too and not make me feel weird ha-ha. (Becky)
Anyway, today, you’ve got a new one to play for the first time since you put it out yesterday. Tell us about “Good At Leaving” and where that one came from.
“I feel like I've always been really hesitant to get into relationships, I've always so afraid of falling in love like, it really freaks me out and I don't know why, but I've always had this weird relationship with that. I have a boyfriend now, his name is Vincent, he's a great guy, I Love him and he's awesome but I wrote this song before him and I got together where it was more about being so afraid of the commitment and afraid of letting myself be with somebody else. It's all about being good at leaving before there's a chance for things to get good and it's just because I get so caught up in like, what if this goes south and I get my feelings hurt or whatever it is? So, it's just really about being afraid of the commitment and afraid of letting yourself, you know.”
You mentioned Mr. Mason, is he someone that people need to check out? Do you reckon he's got a big career ahead of him as well?
“Most definitely, he's amazing.”
I don't think he's been over yet, so have you beat him here? Have you won that race?
“Yeah, I beat him here and won the race.”
When you put the song out yesterday, you had put the EP out before, so it's kind of an extended EP where you have just added the song on. Why did you decide to do it that way rather than just leave it standalone to possibly lead into a project that may or may not be coming later?
“Yes, project is coming in the very near future but that was kind of the reason why I wanted to put it on because I was like, there's all these songs that I wrote within the similar time frame like “Something To Lose” or “Thinking ‘bout You” were all within the same few months and “Good At Leaving” was in the same situation. I'd wrote it in a similar time period, so I felt like that was a world of songs that were all super cohesive and I wanted to bundle them all together because I think that the listening experience is shared between all of them. Then like, the story, you know? Like, there's so many different narratives that all are of the same time era, but then obviously there's going to be a new era and the new era coming very soon, so I want it to be separate and have its own moment.”
Enjoy this afternoon and absolutely slay out there, we're really excited to see you play, then enjoy Monday night in Hoxton too.
You mentioned Mr. Mason, is he someone that people need to check out? Do you reckon he's got a big career ahead of him as well?
“Most definitely, he's amazing.”
I don't think he's been over yet, so have you beat him here? Have you won that race?
“Yeah, I beat him here and won the race.”
When you put the song out yesterday, you had put the EP out before, so it's kind of an extended EP where you have just added the song on. Why did you decide to do it that way rather than just leave it standalone to possibly lead into a project that may or may not be coming later?
“Yes, project is coming in the very near future but that was kind of the reason why I wanted to put it on because I was like, there's all these songs that I wrote within the similar time frame like “Something To Lose” or “Thinking ‘bout You” were all within the same few months and “Good At Leaving” was in the same situation. I'd wrote it in a similar time period, so I felt like that was a world of songs that were all super cohesive and I wanted to bundle them all together because I think that the listening experience is shared between all of them. Then like, the story, you know? Like, there's so many different narratives that all are of the same time era, but then obviously there's going to be a new era and the new era coming very soon, so I want it to be separate and have its own moment.”
Enjoy this afternoon and absolutely slay out there, we're really excited to see you play, then enjoy Monday night in Hoxton too.
The extended version of “Is This Heaven” which is the new EP from STELLA LEFTY is out now and is available HERE. To find details and ticket information for all her upcoming north American dates along with her shows in Australia later this year, you can check out her WEBSITE. You can also keep up to date with Stella and all that she is up to by following along on INSTAGRAM and TIKTOK.
American Express presents BST Hyde Park concludes this weekend with headline performances from Pitbull (July 10th) and Lewis Capaldi (July 11th & 12th) to complete this year’s programme. Full festival details and any last remaining tickets for shows which are not sold out are available on their WEBSITE and you can keep up to date with all that is happening across the festival on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
American Express presents BST Hyde Park concludes this weekend with headline performances from Pitbull (July 10th) and Lewis Capaldi (July 11th & 12th) to complete this year’s programme. Full festival details and any last remaining tickets for shows which are not sold out are available on their WEBSITE and you can keep up to date with all that is happening across the festival on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.